Couple gifts nearly $2 million to entities

VW independent/submitted information

The family of Earl and Doris Gerdeman announces the distribution of significant charitable gifts from the estates of the longtime Middle Point area residents.  

Earl Gerdeman was born on a farm near Middle Point and graduated from Middle Point High School as the valedictorian of his graduating class. Doris (Meyer) Gerdeman was an Ottawa native and a graduate of St. Peter and Paul High School.  

The Gerdemans married in 1956 and both were very active in their communities through St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Delphos, the 4-H program, Ohio Farm Bureau, and Lincolnview Local Schools. 

The couple farmed in the rural Middle Point area, where they resided. Earl first served in the United States Army and then for 35 years as vocational agricultural instructor at Lincolnview High School from 1954 to 1989. Doris taught third grade for many years at Delphos St. John’s Elementary School. They were avid gardeners, often giving produce to friends and neighbors. 

Together, Earl and Doris left an outsized legacy during their lives. That legacy is now continued with the distribution of nearly $2 million worth of charitable distributions to Lincolnview Local Schools and Delphos St. John’s Parish Foundation (each nearly $575,000), more than $375,000 to Delphos St. John’s Elementary School, and nearly $200,000 each to St. Peter and Paul School and the Van Wert County Agricultural Society (Van Wert County Fair Board).